Some industries don't just underpay women, they're structurally designed to exploit them. Here are four of the worst offenders.
Human Trafficking & Forced Labor
Women and girls make up 61% of all trafficking victims worldwide, and while they are trafficked predominantly for sexual exploitation, many are also forced into domestic work and other labor. It's not random. Trafficking thrives where women are seen as commodities, feeding on weak protections and a relentless global demand for cheap, invisible labor. From agriculture and garment production to hospitality and domestic work, poorly regulated sectors give traffickers room to operate with impunity. The UN's 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons and the U.S. State Department's 2025 TIP Report both confirm the crisis is growing.
MLMs (Multi-Level Marketing)
Sold as empowerment, MLMs are arguably one of the most financially predatory schemes targeting women in the legal economy. Women make up 75% of MLM participants globally, in some beauty and jewelry MLMs, that figure climbs to 95%. Most are mothers, women of color, and people in economically depressed areas, sold a dream of financial independence only to find themselves in debt. The numbers are damning: a 2024 FTC staff report found that most participants earned $1,000 or less per year, and in at least 17 MLMs studied, most participants made nothing at all. Georgetown Law's journal called it an unwinnable lottery, by design.
The Modeling Industry
Behind the glossy surface, the fashion world operates with almost no labor protections for its workers. Unlike Hollywood talent agencies, which are licensed, regulated, and capped at 10% commissions, modeling firms are classified as "management companies," allowing them to hold power of attorney over models, deduct inflated expenses with zero accounting obligation, and lock models into multi-year auto-renewing contracts whether or not they book any jobs. The result? More than half of models are owed money by clients or agencies, and financial dependence makes it far harder for them to speak up about pervasive harassment. Model Alliance has been leading the fight for reform, and Ms. Magazine's recent investigation connects the dots between financial vulnerability and abuse on set.
Wage Theft in Frontline Work
It's happening in plain sight. Women in the U.S. are nearly 50% more likely than men to hold job titles linked to wage misclassification, a tactic especially common in retail, food service, hospitality, and janitorial work, where employers use inflated titles like "coordinator" or "lead" to avoid paying legally required overtime. For domestic workers, the exploitation is even more isolated. Women working behind closed doors of private residences face higher risks for abuse, with some reporting wage theft occurring at least three times a year.
The geography of women's entrepreneurship is shifting, and the South is leading the way. A new CoworkingCafe analysis of 200+ metros found that women-owned businesses now account for nearly 23% of all U.S. firms, with women-owned firms collectively employing nearly 11.7 million people and generating an estimated $3.3 trillion in revenue annually.
So where should women entrepreneurs plant their flag? The top large metros are Washington D.C. and Atlanta. D.C. stands out for its scale with over 291,000 people are employed at women-owned firms there, plus a new $26 million venture capital program launched in late 2024 targeting underrepresented founders. Atlanta earns its spot thanks to the highest business formation rate in the top five, at 2,716 new businesses per 100,000 residents.
The motivations driving this growth are clear: about 71% of women aged 35–44 cite balancing work and family as a major reason for starting a business, and more than 60% across the 25–44 age range wanted to be their own boss. These women aren't choosing entrepreneurship as a fallback,it's a deliberate career move.
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